Author's Note: Well, I suppose one can't apologize too much for the appalling lack of reasonably updates. However, rather than giving excuses, I will humbly ask your pardon and let you get to what you've been waiting for. After making it through several hard drive failures, writer's block, and years of no updates, I present the final chapter of Shadow Sorcerer.

Chapter 11

Immortality

Talen had not tried to break down the door, strangle the guards, dematerialize, or any other conceivable way of escape. He had the knowledge that he would not have been able to had he tried, and yet it was the knowledge itself that would prevent him from being able to do so. Knowledge, or a lack of will.

Talen had never thought of himself as a particularly emotionally frail person. He would never have thought himself mentally diseased, or prone to any form of depression. Despite his unfortunate upbringing he had been a rather happy child, prone to pranks and sarcasm. And yet here he was, lacking the will to move, to get up, to do anything. It was as though a raging fire had burned under him, bringing him to a boil, but now it was removed and he was as placid as an untouched lake.

It had only been two days since he had arrived…well, he didn't know where he was. In prison, in a small damp cell. Whether it was Cimmura or somewhere else he did not know. It hadn't smelled like Cimmura when they had led him blindfolded through the streets.

No one had come to see him yet, which was surprising. He had expected Aphrael or Sparhawk to storm up sooner rather than later. No matter, they would come. Talen wasn't sure whether he dreaded or anticipated this meeting. And then, he predicted, after the first meeting with Sparhawk, Aphrael would come to him alone.

Or as alone as Talen ever was these days. He could no longer see the god in front of him, or next to him just outside his peripheral vision. But Talen felt that presence near him, surrounding him. It gave the aura of holiness, of cleanliness, knowledge and gentleness. It was comforting, loving, and peaceful.

It was everything Aphrael never was.

Once again Talen smiled to himself. How in love he had been with that goddess and now….not anger, not remorse, but peace. But she would come. He knew she would come.

The first of Talen's visitors came the next morning. Through his eyelashes Talen

saw the Pandion guards clank up and stand on either side of his cell door. He toyed with the idea of standing and looking very commanding for his royal visitors, but decided against it. That would merely make him look silly, a commander with no army, no backing, utterly alone. Delusional. No, instead he would show his power through insolence, veiled insolence. Let them wake him as servants would. Talen continued to feign sleep.

He heard Sparhawk's step followed by a lighter one, accompanied by the smell of the field. The barred door clanged open and the two entered. Talen opened his eyes very slowly and looked each of them in the eye. Sparhawk looked stern, Aphrael as Danae, worried. Talen stretched and raised his head to lean on his hand. He cocked an eyebrow.

The three of them remained so for quite some time. Sparhawk did not turn when he commanded the guards "Leave us." The guards trundled off without reply, but the three remained silent. Again, it was Sparhawk that broke the silence, although it was in a much softer voice.

"Won't you say something, Talen?"

Talen regarded him for a moment, and replied without the slightest mockery in his voice. "What is there to say?"

Aphrael looked away, but whispered "Why?"

Talen sat up and looked at her earnestly. "For the same reasons I gave you at the beginning. I struggled against the gods, against you, and unlocked powers I should not have had. In my search for meaning, for control, I found a cause I would be willing to head. For a long time I would not have died for it, but I felt strongly enough that I would devote my life to it. How odd, isn't it, that I would have died for you, but in the end fight not to devote my life to you."

Sparhawk coughed. "Talen, I understand what you fight for and why. I know why I fight against it. But Talen, why did you…." His voice broke. "Khalad, Berit, Dolmant…"

That took Talen aback. "Dolmant?"

"You sent your man to kill him, did you not? To entice us into war…"

Talen looked down. Dolmant had always been kind, always a friend. But then they all had, and some had been more than that. He said softly, "No. I would not have done that. That was not on my orders…you see we had a traitor in our midst, guiding events to his own ends." He looked up and smiled slightly in a smile that did not reach his eyes. "That is why I am here, you see. The fight ended because of him…"

"What are these ends? Is he anyone we need to be worried about?" Sparhawk looked worried now. "What is this man who opposes you?"

Talen leaned back and sighed. "He is dead."

"So we need not worry." Visible relief spread over Sparhawk's face.

"Not about him…but may I inquire of my own fate?"

Sparhawk's face turned serious one again. "We are in the Basilica's dungeons. There will be a trial of sorts, before all the Church heads. If you are found guilty, you will be executed."

Talen's eyes found Sparhawk's. His voice was steady. "And I am guilty. Very guilty. So be it.."

"You will not protest? Or try to get out of it? "Sparhawk seemed a bit stunned.

"What will they charge me of? Murder on two accounts, one of the Archprelate. Granted, I'm not guilty of that one, but how do I prove that? And then there's Treason, Heresy, witchcraft, on all accounts I am guilty. And you, Sparhawk, would you not have me die for what I have done?" Talen's voice was light.

"I would kill you myself were I ordered to, and yet…"

Talen turned away from him. The lightness disappeared and his voice threatened to break at he hurled his reply. "You are an insult to my brother! Do not be so undecided, so shallow. I am prepared to die, you must be prepared to kill!"

"No!" Aphrael's cry followed quick on his words. "What are you saying? Talen, you don't have to die! You can get out of here easily enough, if you are not willing than I can get you out. Don't throw your life away for a mistake you made!"

Sparhawk attempted to cut in, but Talen gestured at him to be silent and turned back to her, staring calmly, but not condescendingly, into her eyes. "So you speak at last, goddess. It wasn't a mistake. It was necessary. There are…things that I wished had not happened but…they were my choices….my very own, guided by my own beliefs."

"That doesn't make them right." Aphrael whispered,

Talen looked thoughtful. "You're correct. Just because I chose to do something of my own free will doesn't make it right. But it did accomplish a purpose…both a selfish one and something else for others.

"You refer to Rendor?" Sparhawk inquired.

"Yes. Unless they have been defeated already."

"No, they have not."

Talen looked at Sparhawk. "You know, if I were you, after they carry out my sentence, I'd get my troops out of there."

Aphreal broke in. "You don't even know what the sentence is going to be."

Talen rolled his eyes and his voice was cutting. "Don't be a fool, goddess. You know as well as I do what will happen. I have poured myself out, and my time is coming to an end."

Sparhawk was quiet for a moment. "Then you mean to be a martyr. Even now you are playing politics, religion and war."

Talen let a small smile crease his lips and he bowed his head slightly. "I am."

"Then you think your death will encourage the Rendors….to the point of frenzy. You think it will get worse."

"Yes. I warn you…but we both know there is little you will be able to do. The Archprelate is dead. The Elenes will not stop…and I think they will pay for the years they kept these people in bondage."

Sparhawk turned away. "And there will be nothing I can do…"

"Yes. There is nothing you will be able to do…so don't do anything."

"What do you mean?"

"At the trial." Talen replied. "Don't make things difficult for them. Don't be a voice of reason. Do your duty and avenge those I have killed in the court. You will help no one by trying to soften things."

Sparhawk looked straight at Talen. "I will do my duty. I suppose you are doing yours." He paused. "There is nothing more to say then. Goodbye, Talen. When next you see me, I will be Kahlad's avenger, and I will have never known you."

Sparhawk turned and stalked from the cell. Aphrael lingered until Sparhawk's sharp voice called her away. She gave Talen a last heart-stricken look and hurried after her earthly father.

Talen smiled a lay back down. Well, he was certaintly right about one thing; Aphrael would be paying him a visit.

Moonlight was streaming in from the one window of his cell. Talen was awake and waiting.

The worst thing about prison, he decided, was not the lack of a private toilet, or the food, or even the smell. It was the sheer boredom.

It seemed to Talen that there wasn't really all that much worth thinking about. He didn't have to be a prophet to know what was going to happen in his future. He would be taken before the Church Heads and charged with murder, one of the Archprelate. He would then be charged with heresy and witchcraft. He would plead guilty and then they would take him out and hang him, or burn him, or chop his head off. What was there to think about?

Talen had never really thought about dying before, and the times when he had been in a life-threatening position, he had left everything up to a certain amount of skill and chance. There was an odd sort of tightness in his stomach, but that was the only sign of nervousness.

Nervousness…he was going to die, and he merely called it 'nervousness'? Talen began to think of how else to describe his feelings when he heard the muffled clang of the door. He sat up quickly and smiled at Aphrael, parading in Danae's body. "I'm sorry goddess. I meant to be paying more attention."

"You knew from the start that I was coming." Her voice was flat and unsurprised, so unlike the first time...

"Yes…I knew."

She looked at him with a great sadness pooling in her eyes. "You won't…change your mind, will you? You know what's happened and even with that knowledge, I won't be able to convince you otherwise."

"That is more or less what it comes down to." His voice was tired, but had a light joking quality to it all the same.

Aphrael ran to him and threw herself into his arms. She sobbed into his chest as he lightly placed his arms around her. "I don't want you to die," she said through muffled sobs. "I love you…"

Talen held her tighter as her sobbing went on, but did not say a thing. There was nothing left to be said.

The Basilica was silent as Talen stood before the heads of the Church. His hands were bound in front of him, his back was arrow straight. The charges had been given days ago, the witnesses had had their say. Their accounts seemed fantastical and unreal, but Talen knew they were true. He had done those things, it just seemed a lifetime ago.

The acting Archprelate frowned down at him. "Talen, son of Kurik, formerly of the Pandion Order, what do you have to say to these charges and the witnesses of them?"

Talen's voice was strong as he replied. "Of everything but the murder of Archprelate Dolmant, I am guilty."

The hall resounded in murmuring. Talen waited for silence to resume. The acting Archprelate's frown grew deeper. "Can you prove your innocence of this?"

"No." the noise started to bubble up again, but Talen continued, forcing the court to silence. "But I thought I might as well say it, for the record. For everything else, as I said, I am quite guilty."

The Archprelate cleared his throat and addressed him once more. 'You have committed several of the gravest of crimes. You have murdered, you have practiced magic, you have incited rebellion, you have led a group of heretics and encouraged heresy. You have committed treason against the sovereign nation of Elenia. You have broken your vows concerning the Pandions. Are you aware of the penalty of each of these?"

"Yes, Your Eminence. Death, on all accounts."

"That is correct. The Church Court hereby sentences you to being hanged by the neck until dead."

There was no rustle of disbelief, and the silence held long after Talen was escorted from the Basilica.

Talen's new cell was smaller than his last, but much cleaner. The occupants didn't remain for long.

He had remained awake all night contemplating what was left of his life, what he had done, what he would leave behind. Talen had decided that it must be very rare for a person to die with no regrets. He had plenty of them.

He couldn't say that he would have done too much differently if he had to do it all over again. With hindsight, he of course wouldn't have trusted Elith, but then without Elith, Rendor would have stayed the same. Some things were worth sacrifice, the sacrifice of one's self and of others.

But why think of others at the moment? It was Talen that was the sacrifice now. Death was such an unknown…and yet it was obviously only permanent to an extent. He was frightened. Who would not be? The soul's flight into the unknown was the most terrible concept to think of, and yet how could he not think of it on the eve of his death? He wondered if Aphrael would want his soul.

It was at that thought that Raven's form of pulsating light shone before him. Talen dropped to his knees and shielded his eyes, crying out at the sudden light. A voice that was identifiable as Raven's and at the same time quite different from Raven's reprimanded his thoughts. "Your soul is mine, Wolf. You sought to free yourself from the grip of the goddess and you attached yourself to me. Trust me. I will take care of you."

Talen still could not look at the figure. "I don't deserve this of you, holy one."

The ageless voice paused, and then replied, "No, you do not. But I give you my gift of peace anyway." The light faded away, but Talen remained on his knees. Night brightened to dawn, and the rosy light streamed in through the small barred window. Talen looked at the light and saw it's beauty, but knew the beauty of his god's light outshone it. That light gave him peace.

Talen was still on his knees when the Pandions came to lead him to the gallows.

Danae clutched her skirt and wrung it in her hands. The Elene court was all present on one of the four great balconies surrounding the square that housed the gallows. There crowd below was loud with excitement and anticipation, but the balconies were eerily devoid of the normal emotions of hangings. The faces of those who had known Talen were pale and drawn, and those who hadn't known him were nervous because of the others.

The crowd erupted in to shouts and cheering as Talen was led from one of the doors. A path was guarded by the Pandions, and Talen was surrounded by one of each of the four martial orders in full plate mail and visors down. Talen was still dressed in the desert robes he had been captured in. His hair was lank and dirty, but he stood straight and as taller than seemed possible for one of his stature. His hands were bound behind him.

The crowd hissed and booed, heaving detritus at Talen through the escort. The guards made no move to protect Talen from the crowd. They were there to protect the crowd from Talen. Half-rotten fruit hit him from every side, and the juice ran down his face in a parody of blood.

One man lunged forward with a large stone and lobbed it at Talen. Danae threw herself to towards the railing and screamed his name. Talen twisted one shoulder and the rock sailed past. The crowd voiced their anger at him, and tried to rush forward, but the guards pushed them back. Talen would die, but he would die by the Church's justice and no other.

The march to the gallows was over quickly, and Danae watched through tear-filled eyes as Talen was led up the rickety stairs. He was placed over a trap door and the noose was fitted around his neck. She burst into loud choking sobs and felt Sparhawk's arms encircle her as the drum roll began.

Martel wasn't sure he actually liked being some messenger to the god, but he wasn't sure he could complain either. He wasn't dead, and he wasn't being tortured, so there wasn't too much to complain about in the first place. All he had to do was whatever Raven told him.

Normally Martel wouldn't have bothered obeying, Hell, even Azash didn't get that much reverence from him. But Raven knew all that he had done, and had still taken him in. That required a certain level of deference, Martel decided. He certainly didn't have anything better to do.

His current job was to go find his former compatriot and let him see Talen die. Goody.

At least none of them knew about Martel's…semi-betrayal. After all, it wasn't as though he was trying to help Sparhawk. He just had his own goals in mind. Well, it was over now, and they didn't know about it, so they wouldn't be giving him any grief about it.

He concentrated and coalesced into a solid body, almost thankful that he had been dead before this. He was familiar with not having a body; someone who had never experienced death would have had a much harder time navigating the physical world in spirit form.

He walked down the halls of the former abbey, where Nyph and Hiren had set up their headquarters. Where the provisional government of Rendor was housed.

When Talen was taken, Nyph had shattered. But the Rendors were used to lost causes, and they had seen what Talen had done when they had tried to kill him. There were no desperate attempts to recapture Talen, but the remaining rebels had moved with a vengeance against the Eosian forces. In a few short days they had taken more ground than in all the previous months combined, and oddly enough, more people joined them now than when they had Talen with them.

But while the Rendors managed to rise from Talen's capture, their new leader, Nyph, was a broken man.

Martel paused in the doorway and stared at the hunched form of Talen's first follower. He doubted what was to follow would give the bandit any relief. He cleared his throat and Nyph sprang to his feet, looking wildly about and his eyes widening in surprise when he say Martel. "We thought you were dead…" he murmured.

Martel smiled. "I am."

It was a testament to how far the boundaries of normality had been pushed that Nyph did not blanch.

"I am here as a messenger, an…" he paused with a wicked grin, " 'angel', if you will. Talen has been sentenced to death by the Elenes. I'm to bring you back with me, that you may witness his death."

Nyph dropped to his knees. "I…don't know what to think, what to feel." He whispered. "Should I hope or despair?"

Martel studied him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I do not know if Talen means to save himself."

Martel looked down, curiously reverent. "I think…Talen has resigned himself to what will happen…and I think that he is allowing himself to be used."

"Used!?" Nyph said with anger. "Who dares—"

Martel cut him off. "Love to hear it, old boy, but we really must dash if we're to see anything at all." He stepped closer to Nyph, put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not showing this to you to torment you. There is…something greater at work here."

He held onto Nyph and then they were gone.

Danae could hear the snap from her seat, without any amplification.

The crowd had gone oddly silent, and the body swayed, making the ropes creak. She felt as if every voice ever raised in prayer to her had fallen silent, that her heart had snapped along with Talen's neck.

And then there was collective inhale as a snow white raven descended from the sky and perched on Talen's drooping shoulder. There was a louder gasp when the bird began to speak.

"You have killed my prophet."

The crowd waited in a tense silence for the bird to continue.

"You have killed my prophet, but he went willingly to the slaughter, and so I will reward him. And you will know that there is a power to be reckoned with in him and his people. You will know that it is a god that inspires them, and a god who fights with them. Mine were a forsaken people, neither loved by your God, nor any other. You will see, you will witness, and you will know that should anyone move against my people, I will shake the very foundations of heaven with war, and my power will not be that of the gods alone, but of the people, and you will know fear. And defeat."

The raven cawed raciously, and then there was Talen, standing beside himself, dark wings folded gracefully behind him. The raven cawed again, and then Martel was on the platform on the other side of Talen's corpse, bearing wings as well. The crowd began to murmur in awe and fear. Danae glanced at the Churchmen's faces, seeing lips pressed thin and heads inclined as they murmured theology at each other.

She turned back to the scene and caught the raven's eye. With a final caw, the raven and his two winged followers disappeared.

Chaos erupted.

Sparhawk kept trying to comfort her, but Danae didn't want any comfort. There was too much going on, and too much she wasn't aware of. She expected to have guests when she returned to her rooms, and after she had spoken with them, then she would have time to grieve. If any sort of grieving would be necessary.

When she pushed the doors to her suite open, she was rather surprised that no one was there, but she didn't have long to wait. Three figures appeared, one being sort of pushed into shape by the other two. When all three had coalesced, Talen looked rather less than amused by the difficulty he was having moving on the spiritual and physical planes.

Danae bit her lip and really looked at Talen. He was there, before her, and oddly enough he was closer to the boy she had known that at any other time she had seen him, all slightly awkward movements and boundless potential. His eyes sparkled again, and no longer with malice.

Danae looked then to the god, flanked on either side by angels. He still held his child's form, but unlike Aphrael, he never put on the air of a child. His eyes were ageless. "What shall I call you?" she asked.

"My name is Eloii." The god said. "But I think I prefer to be called Raven."

"Thank you, then, Raven."

The god bowed his head slightly. "I am glad to make you happy, goddess."

"Might I ask why you are here? I did expect to see you but…I do not know you, or your intentions." Danae said.

"We have come to say goodbye, goddess." Raven replied. "For now, at least."

Talen spoke then, pleasantly and without any real threat. "We have work to do, in Rendor. We would appreciate it if you would refrain from interfering."

Danae knew her smile was tinged with sadness. "Of course. I'll do what I can to get the Elenes to pull out as well. Talen…." She started, but didn't know exactly what she wanted to say.

He smiled, and suddenly the past was mended (not whole, of course, but the scars would fade, in time.) "I'm happy I'll get to see you, Aphrael. I'm not sure I'm cut out for immortality, but at least I have you to show me the ropes."

Danae grinned then, looked back at Raven for permission. The god nodded and Danae ran forward to throw her arms around Talen. He hugged her back and this time there were no dark undertones, no desire, no unspoken wants. They were friends, and suddenly, that was all Aphrael could want.

Hiren found Nyph on his knees, weeping.

"He's alive!" Nyph cried.

"Who?" Hiren asked, somewhat confused.

"Talen!" Nyph exclaimed.

Hiren pursed his lips. "Didn't we know that?"

Nyph shook his head. "But they killed him! I saw it!"

Understanding dawned on Hiren and he nodded sagely, a rueful smile on his face. "I see then." He glanced up. "So that's what you did."

Nyph narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Hiren sat down on the ground next to Nyph. "I haven't been completely honest with you." He said. "I take it you know by now that Raven is a god?"

Nyph seemed to think about that for a moment before nodding.

"He's the god of the Rendors, since they are not claimed by the Elene god. He's been waiting to take his rightful place among them. I am the replacement for Azash. There cannot be a vacuum, you see."

Nyph blinked in confusion and Hiren laughed. "I agreed to help him. So you see, you were never in any danger. You were surrounded by gods. And now, you'll lead these people. Nothing can stop us now." He paused as he got up from the floor. "You're going to have a hell of time working out the theology though."

"You're doing it wrong." Martel drawled.

Talen glared at him. "Well maybe if I had a decent teacher, I wouldn't keep making mistakes."

"Don't blame the teacher for your own inadequacies. It's not my fault you can't remember how you look well enough to get your face right."

"Oh, well, excuse me for not spending all my time in front of a mirror. And if we're bringing up inadequacies, we might take a look at a few of yours." Talen rolled his eyes.

Martel quirked an eyebrow. "Such as?"

Talen smirked. "The fact that you failed miserably at killing Sparhawk multiple times and through multiple lives."

Martel frowned. "That doesn't count. When gods are involved, it has nothing to do with your abilities."

"Doesn't count my ass! You---"

Raven smiled beatifically as he listened to his angel's squabbling. Eternity was a long time. He was looking forward to it.